31G 
T111': COTTA G K GAUDENE R. ' 
Efir.iuTAr.Y 12. 
qui^hecl. It is needless to say with what extreme reluctance this conclu¬ 
sion was arrived at. Upon public grounds, indeed, the abandonment of 
the Garden was less important than it would appear to lie, now that the 
magnificent Royal Garden at Kew, which is so much more accessible by 
water and railway, has gained its present completeness. When the So¬ 
ciety’s Garden was formed, Kew was neither open to the pulilic, nor in a 
condition to be of any public advantage. At the present moment it i.s 
the finest garden-establishment in the world, and necessarily aitracts to 
itself a large proportion of those who formerly resorted to Chiswick. This 
is not shown, indeed, by the annual returns of the number of visitors who 
pass the gates at Chiswick on days not of exhibition, for in 1854 they 
were rather more than in 1831 ; but when the names of visitors are ana¬ 
lysed, it is found that out of 65/3 in 1853, and 5140 in 1854, only 2P7 
consisted of Fellows in the first of these years, and 2"3 in the second. 
Nevertheless, the Garden had been the great scene of the labours of the 
Society ; it was there and through it that the utility of the Society had ; 
been demonstrated to the whole world; it was the field in which it had 
gained a reputation that was acknowledged wherever the name of Horti¬ 
culture was known ; and, moreover, it was the place upon which what 
may be almost called the affection of a large body of its Fellows had been 
fixed. That such a place should he relinquished was a conclusion to 
which nothing but the most imperious necessity could have conducted 
the Council; but the necessity seems to exist, and it is in jiart for the 
purpose of obtaining the authority of the Society to make so great a sacri¬ 
fice, or of hearing what other course the Fellows may have to propose, 
that this meeting is convened. 
The cessation of income deriv.able from the Exhibitions would have 
been of less immediate importance had the Corporation possessed any 
pecuniary resources which might have been employed to make good that 
deficiency ; but for more than thirty years our surplus funds have been 
continually sunk in improving our fixed property, or in furthering the 
interests of Horticulture. In the house in which w'e are now assembled, 
in its furniture, in its library, and in the Garden, the property of the 
Society is so wholly locked up, that whenever money has been wanted 
beyond the funds immediately at command, it has been necessary to 
have recourse to the bankers, as has been shown, year after year, in the 
accounts presented at each anniversary. At this moment the advances 
by the bankers amount to jfc’2400, and must have been greater had not 
some relief been obtained by the sale, last autumn, of certain Orchids and 
other plants, which produced the cle.ar sum of ^’512 6,v. In order to 
reduce still further the existing debt, the Herbaria and old stock of 
Transactions were ordered to be disposed of. The Herbaria, formed by 
our collectors of plants, have lost their interest with the Society, having 
been prepared merely for the purpose of ascertaining the names of the i 
seeds which our collectors sent home: they have not been consulted for ^ 
many years, and with us have long since ceased to be of utility. They | 
were, however, of much importance in Rotanical collections, and there- ; 
fore the Council directed them to be sold by public auction. This took I 
place last Tuesday, when the sum of about i'250 was obtained, subject j 
to the customary reductions, the principal buyers having been the | 
British hluseum, the JIuseum of Natural History, and Baron Belesscrt j 
of Paris, and Prof. Agardh of I.und. | 
With regard to the old stock cf Transactions, it was last year valued at 
only .:fc'200 ; it was extremely bulky, was certain to diminish in value 
rather than increase, and has also been announced for sale by auction. 
Assuming the opinion of the Society upon the relinquishment of the 
present Garden to coincide with that of the Council, another (|uestion to j 
be considered is, what future course we should take in compliance w ith the j 
declaration of the charter that the Society is incorporated fur the Im- ( 
provement of Horticulture in all its branches. 
After long and anxious consideration, the Council have arrived at the I 
conclusion, that although the means of the Society no longer permit it I 
to maintain a great and costly Garden, yet, that by some alteration in | 
existing arrangements, and by giving the action of the Society a new i 
direction, it may be found possible to carry out the objects of the charter j 
with unimpaired utility. This they hope to effect by the measures ; 
announced in their circular letter of Uecember 24th, viz. :— 
1. In place of the Garden E.xhibitions, to hold London Exhibitions 
during the spring and autumn; and to hire some suitable place for the 
purpose. 
2. To hold Monthly Meetings as heretofore, in Regent Street, for the 
despatch of business, for reading papers or for the exhibition of Horti¬ 
cultural produce ; but to discontinue medals at those meetings, and on 
each occasion, when the format business is over, to cause an illustrated 
Lecture to be delivered upon some subject of Horticultural interest, 
which may be afterwards made the subject of discussion. 
3. To distribute seeds as usual. 
4. By means of a Collector, or otherwise, to obtain seeds and roots 
from countries beyond the limits of Europe, for the purpose of 
distribution. 
5. To maintain a very small Garden for raising such seeds as may not 
arrive in sufficient quantity for distribution, restoring the health of im¬ 
ported plants, and experimental purposes. 
6. To institute a regular system of inquiry into subjects of importance 
connected with Horticulture throughout the kingdom, by means of 
Special Committees, whose reports will be communicated to the Monthly 
Bleetings, and otherwise made public. 
7. To make arrangements for enabling Members to borrow books from 
the Library, for short periods, upon their undertaking to return them 
uninjured. 
8. Should the funds prove sufficient to secure excellent c.xccution, to 
convert the Journal into a Monthly ,1’ublication, with a coloured plate in 
each part; which shall not be sold to the public, but printed solely for 
the use of the members, and rcgul.arly transmitted by post to those who 
may specially give their address for that purpose. 
9. It also appeared to the Council worthy of consideration whether, 
besides the Monthly Slcetings and the E.xhibitions, a formal Course of 
Ijectiirea, of an cilucatiooal nature, upon Horticulture, Garden Botany, 
or allied subjects, might not prove uselul and popular. 
^ 10. It was evident that in order to maintain the receipts of the Society 
in correspondence with the expenditure that must be rendered necessary 
by the adoption of some of the foregoing suggestions, and to take due 
actvantage of the economy which may result from others, alterations in 
the privileges and payments of IMembers of the Society would become 
indispensalile. 
11. They therefore proposed that Members of the Society should, as at 
present, be admitted to all Exhibitions and Public Meetings, without 
payment, on signing their names at the entrance. 
12. But that all other persons should be required to present a Ticket 
on entering. 
13. Tliat these Tickets should be issued to orders of Members of the 
Society at the rate of Three Shillings each for the Exhibitions, and of 
One Shilling each for any other Public Meetings. 
14. That Members should have the privilege of purchasing such 
tickets at a much lower rate if taken in certain quantities, viz., ten Exhi¬ 
bition tickets, or twenty-five ordinary tickets for a sovereign. 
15. And, in order to put an end to the loss which has been sustained 
by those who have hitherto purchased Garden Exhibition tickets without 
being able to use them in the season for which they were issued, the 
Council proposed that the new classes of tickets should be available 
during two successive seasons. 
16. In making the foregoing alterations the Council proposed to 
retain the present rale of subscription (namely, ^2 26'. admission fee, 
and 4s. annually, paid retrospectively), wherever it is desired to enjoy 
all the privileges secured to Fellows by the Charter. All existing Life 
Members, old Three Guinea Members, and still older Two Guinea or One 
Guinea Members, would fall into this class ; and by them every privilege 
which the Bye-laws permit would be exercised. 
17. But in order to meet the vvishes of others, it was contemplated to 
establish a class of Subsrri/tcrs, who, upon payment cf Two Guineas 
annually (in advance, but without an admission fee), should be entitled 
to personal free admission to the Exhibitions and Jleetings, to purchase 
tickets at the reduced price, and to all the other privileges of Fellows, 
except the government of the Society, participation in the distribution of 
seeds and phants, and the receipt of the Journal. 
The Council feel that upon these points some difference of opinion 
must be expected to prevail. In circumstances so difficult as those of 
the Society it could scarcely be otherwise. The Council do not cling to 
their own suggestions. The proposals they have made are the best 
which had occurred to themselves or been suggested by others at the date 
of their circular of December 24. Should dilferent views, not incon¬ 
sistent with the financial safety of the Corporation, meet with the 
approval of the present meeting, the council will do what lies with them 
to give them cllect. It must, however, be borne in mind, that the income 
of the Corporation, on the Jst of May last, was only ^/IIO in excess of its 
expenditure, as has already been stated ; and that it has since diminished 
by deaths and withdrawals. If it is now taken to amount to ^"2500, it is 
as much as it is .safe to rely upon. On the other hand, the expenses of 
the London establishment arc ^'2000 ; and these will be increased if the 
measures now proi) 08 ed are carried into effect. It is to be hoped, indeed, 
that those measures will lead to a material improvement in the Society’s 
means : but upon the whole, the Council cannot regard the income as 
being likely to do more than balance the expenditure during the first 
years of the changes now proposed. 
To one point only in the suggestions which they have made do the 
Council themselves desire to advert; namely, the proposal to admit Stib- 
scribers at .:fc'2 2s. a year, without some of the privileges of Fellotvs. It 
has been much pressed upon them, that it would be better at once to reduce 
all subscriptions to .•€’2 2s. a year ; and to elect Fellows only, with equal 
privileges, as heretofore. Another proposal is to reduce all the four 
guinea subscriptions to £'i 3s., payable in advance, not retrospectively. 
They readily admit that such measures might be attended by advan¬ 
tage, if the society possessed the means of trying so serious an experi¬ 
ment. But when they remember that the first alteration would entail a 
certain toss of more than jfflOOO a year,* leaving the Society with an in¬ 
come considerably below its expenditure, instead of beyond it, unless 
there should be a large and sudden accession of new members ; and that 
the second would be attended by the sacrifice of nearly ^ oOO a year, they 
feel that it is not for them to recommend either proposal to the sanction 
of the meeting. 
After the reading of that report, Earl Grey rose, and 
proposed llie first resolution in a speech after the model 
of those speeches on “ moving an answer to the Queen’s 
speech ” in Parliament—a perfect echo of the different 
topics toadied on in tho report. Alas, for the glories of 
Chiswick ! Tlie Council hereby acknowledge tliat they 
could not see their way down to tho Cliiswick Gardens, 
andEarl Grey could not seehow they could. He lamented, 
as much as any of them, or as much as all of them 
* The number of Fellows of the Society of all classes, on the 22nd of 
last month, was as follows :— 
Life Members . 25S 
Paying 4 guineas annually .(1) 460 
,, 3 guineas ,, '.(2) 55 
,, 2 guineas „ 19 
„ 1 guinea ,, 15 
Abroad, their Subscription suspended . 12 
- 819 
Honorary Members. 7 
Foreign Members. 15 
Home Corresponding Members . 57 
Foreign Corresponding Members. 137 
- 216 
1035 
Hence (I) 46o diminished by ^'2 2s. each represent a loss of .£' 966 . 
,, ( 2 ) 65 ,, cfc 1 Is. ,, ,, 57 15s’. 
£ri023 15s. 
